A Worthy Bird

In the first year of the Jingning era, Wang Zhaojun set out for the frontier. While passing through Beidi Commandery, she stopped to rest by the road and heard a shepherd singing a Han song:

Snow-white lapels flecked with plum-petal jade, a wolf’s jaws clutch a lonely star.

Cold mountains temper golden claws, a blue blade enters the Han court.

Hidden traces of scales in the imperial chambers, a frosty blade shines in the candlelight.

Watch drums kindle one heart’s flames, a red sash binds an icy heart.

Cloud wings cover the nine gates, golden scales break through the deep abyss.

A scorched paulownia strings forth a clear note, a broken arrow carves an old kindness.

Jade dust turns to ashes, bloodied blades divide dawn from dusk.

Twin phoenixes tear through the sky, together composing a song of crimson clouds.

Amazed, Zhaojun ordered her scribe to record the song and asked about the story behind it. Tears stained her handkerchief.

A mixed-blood heroine of the Han, with a legacy from the Yunmeng witch sect. Two equally formidable women.

Reader advisory:

1. This novel is set during the Western Han under Emperors Zhao and Xuan. It respects the historical record and will not alter the course or appearance of history. The story is created only in the gaps left unrecorded.

2. Both heroines live openly as women and will not disguise themselves as men. There are no records of women serving in the Western Han military, nor of women’s armies; this aspect is the author’s invention.

3. Both heroines will face choices in love. The ending is one-on-one.

4. This novel includes jianghu and wuxia elements.

This novel will enter VIP status on Tuesday, October 28, 2025, with three chapters released that day. It is published exclusively on Jinjiang Literature City. Reposting is prohibited.

Update schedule: One chapter every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday, for a standard five updates per week. The novel has a bonus chapter system: each long review or deep-water torpedo earns one extra chapter, scheduled for Wednesday or Friday.

Theme: A wise bird chooses the right tree to nest in.